cream cheese chicken roll-ups

These chicken roll-ups are the perfect dinner for a fall evening. They are warm, comforting, and delish. I can't wait to use our Thanksgiving leftovers to make these with turkey. This recipe is simple, and only has five ingredients. For my small family, I half the recipe, and heat up the extra soup with some milk to make a gravy to top the roll-ups with. If your family is too large for that you can always just get a gravy packet and mix it with some milk or water. This recipe is from Six Sisters' Stuff. You won't be disappointed, I promise.

Cream Cheese Chicken Roll-ups

Ingredients

4 chicken breast, cooked and cubed
2 packages of crescent rolls
1 - 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened (I use fat free)
1-2 Tbsp chopped onion
1 small can of cream of chicken soup

Instructions

Head over to Six Sisters' Stuff for baking directions. Enjoy!

meatball mummies

I can't  believe how quickly Halloween is sneaking up on us. I feel like it was just the Fourth of July! I really wanted to make this year special for Elle because she's finally at the age where she gets excited about things. Tonight I made meatball sandwiches for Mister and me, and I decided to make something special for Elle. They were really easy to make, and she loved eating them.

Meatball Mummies

Ingredients - per one mummy

3 meatballs

1 Rhodes roll

1 uncooked spaghetti noodle or wooden skewer

Marinara sauce

Instructions

Defrost the Rhodes roll and meatballs (if they are frozen). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stick the three meatballs on the spaghetti noodle or skewer. With your hands form the dough into a very thin rope (about 1/4 inch). Wrap the dough around the meatballs to make it look like a mummy. Carefully take out the noodle or skewer and place the "mummy" on a baking sheet and bake for 17-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with marinara sauce on the side. Enjoy!

creamy pesto grilled cheese

Being a wife and a mom is the best. Some days, though, being a wife and a mom isn't so great. Sometimes I long for the days where my biggest worry was taking care of myself. Now, I feel like I rarely have time to take care of myself because I'm so busy with everyone else. I only have one kiddo. I have know idea how the rest of you moms do it with multiples. One thing constantly weighing on the back of my mind is what I am going to pull together for dinner. We don't eat out a lot because we would rather spend the money on other things. Also, eating out with a toddler isn't always the smoothest experience.

I don't have the time to make big, elaborate meals; Elle won't allow it. The second I head to the kitchen to start dinner she is tugging at my legs wanting all of my attention. I have learned that simple meals are the best way to go for us. One of my favorite fall and winter recipes is grilled cheese and soup. I get a little bored with the typical cheddar, bread, and butter though. We've found a new and exciting way to make grilled cheese, and we are in love! Because I like you, I'll share our secret. If you have some deep, dark grilled cheese secrets you better share!

Creamy Pesto Grilled Cheese

Ingredients

Bread

Provolone or munster cheese

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup basil pesto 

Sliced tomatoes (optional)

Butter

Instructions

Warm up a skillet or griddle to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together mayo and pesto until smooth. Spread some butter on one side of a slice of bread and place on griddle, butter side down. Spread desired amount of pesto mixture on the bread on the griddle. Top with cheese and tomatoes. Place another slice of buttered bread on top, butter side up. Grill until both side of the sandwich are golden brown (a couple minutes on both sides). Serve with some soup on the side. (We love the creamy tomato basil soup at Costco). Enjoy!

pumpkin cookies with white chocolate, caramel, & cinnamon spice

Have I mentioned that we have a cat? Meet Atlas. She joined our family about a month ago when our brother-in-law went to school and couldn't take her with him. She is the sweetest little kitty that loves cuddling. I mention this cutie because she deserves the credit for these delicious cookies being made. We had to run to the store to get canned pumpkin to help her with a little.. ahem... constipation. Since I couldn't let the rest of the pumpkin go to waste, I got on Pinterest and made the first delicious pumpkin cookie recipe that came up. I've never made pumpkin cookies before, so I don't have the cook time down, but these cookies were delightful. I made a spin off of the recipe from Chelsea's Messy Apron. I'll share the ingredients I used, but follow the link to get the baking instructions.

White Chocolate, Caramel, Cinnamon Spice Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 large egg

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups flour

1 cup white chocolate chips

3/4 cup cinnamon chips

3/4 cup caramel bits

Instructions:

Check out Chelsea's Messy Apron for baking instructions.

caramel apple pie: it's even more amazing than it sounds

Let's just take a minute to talk about this recipe. I don't care for apple pie, it's just not my fave. I'm not a fan of pie crust (I know, I know, I'm crazy), and apple pie usually has a lot of crust. Mister loves anything with apples and is a math nerd, so when Pi Day came around during our first year of marriage I knew I needed to be a good wife and make him some apple pie. That is when I came across this recipe from designeddecor.com. It is ah-mazing! Also, it is incredibly easy to make. It is my Pi Day go to recipe, but it is also perfect for autumn. Enough blabbing, here's the recipe.

Caramel Apple Pie

1 pie crust for a 9" pie tin
1/2 c sugar
3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
6 c peeled & thinly sliced apples (I like to use Granny Smith)

Crumbly Topping
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c flour
1/2 c quick oats
1/2 c butter (softened)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Caramel syrup

Preheat oven to 375. In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Add apple slices, and toss until coated. Transfer the apple mixture to the pie shell. Sprinkle crumbly topping over apple mixture, making sure to cover all the apples. Cover the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil to avoid overcooking it. Place a cookie sheet on the lower rack of the oven to catch drippings and bake the pie for 35 minutes, then remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with chopped pecans and drizzle with caramel topping. Serve with some delicious ice cream, and enjoy!

italian lasagna with an american twist

Friends! I have the best lasagna recipe for you!  I have gotten so many compliments from this simple dish. I love this dinner idea because it can be a pantry staple, and you don't have to go buy a ton of ingredients to make it.  Here's the recipe:

Americanized Italian Lasagna

2 bottles of marinara sauce
5 T butter
1/2 cup flour
3 1/2 cups milk
dash of salt
oven ready lasagna noodles
mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

White Sauce Directions

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add in the flour and stir to combined with the butter. Slowly add in the milk. Salt to taste. Continuously whisk to keep the white sauce from burning. Once it starts to boil, turn it down to a simmer and stir for about 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

Assembly Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put a thin layer of marinara sauce at the bottom of a 9x13 glass pan. Lay a layer of lasagna noodles on top. Keep the noodles all going the same way. I like to use the oven ready noodles so I don't have to boil them, but any type of lasagna noodles will work. Break or cut noodles to fit in the pan.

Spread another layer of marinara sauce on top of the noodles. Then, drizzle a layer of white sauce on top of the marinara sauce. Sprinkle some mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on top of that, then prepare for your next layer.

Lay your noodles facing the other way, then continue with your sauce layering (marinara, white, mozzarella, Parmesan-- keep alternating directions with lasagna noodles).

Once you run out of space, or sauce make sure that your final layer is the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Bake it in the oven for 40-45 minutes or so until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted. Serve with a fresh green salad and bread sticks. Enjoy!

savory chicken pot pie

Fall is here! I absolutely love autumn. I crave the changing leaves, perfect weather, and layers of clothing. Fall is also great for delicious comfort food. Today I am sharing one of our family favorites.

This recipe is super delicious. It is the most requested by my husband. It's a great one for fall/winter. You can easily substitute the ingredients for your Thanksgiving leftovers, and have a great, new tasting meal while emptying the contents of your fridge.

                            

Chicken Pot Pie

Crust:

1 1/4 cups cold butter
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
6-7 tbsp water

Combine, mix, and roll out crust. Lay and press gently 2/3 of the rolled crust on the bottom and sides of a 9x13 glass pan. Save the rest for the top crust.

Filling:

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup onion
1 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups chicken broth
10-16 oz frozen veggies (I like to use the bag that has peas, corn, cubed carrots, and green beans)
4-6 chicken breasts (cubed)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and saute onions in a large frying pan. Shake milk and flour together in a container, then add to  butter and onions. Slowly add in chicken broth to avoid lumps. Add salt, pepper, veggies, and chicken. Bring to a boil then pour filling onto the prepared crust. Lay the top crust onto the filling. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the crust is golden.